The last lawsuit related to the 2006 lacrosse case has concluded—more than eight years after an exotic dancer first filed false claims of sexual assault by Duke lacrosse players.
Three members of the 2005-06 lacrosse team—Matthew Wilson and Breck Archer, both Trinity' 07, and Ryan McFadyen, Trinity '08—settled with the University via mediation, according to court documents obtained by the Durham Herald-Sun. The players were investigated during the case but were never charged with a crime.
The court documents indicated that the trio were terminating the legal action they had taken against Durham city officials. Details about the nature of the settlement with the University were not immediately available.
The case began in March 2006, when exotic dancer Crystal Mangum claimed that she had been raped at an off-campus party hosted by the lacrosse team. As an investigation proceeded and quickly gathered national attention, the team's season was canceled and coach Mike Pressler was asked to resign. Three members of the team—Reade Seligmann, Colin Finnerty and David Evans—were indicted, but as the case moved forward, the veracity of Mangum's claims and the accuracy of the police work on the night of the party came into question. In April 2007, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped all charges and declared the three players innocent.
Selgimann, Finnerty and Evans reached a settlement with the University after the charges were dropped. The three also filed a lawsuit against Durham officials, which was settled out of court in May 2014.
A group of 38 lacrosse players from the 2005-06 team filed a lawsuit against the University in 2008, seeking unspecified damages for emotional distress, fraud, negligence and other injuries allegedly inflicted by Duke and other officials. The suit was settled out of court in February 2013.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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